Environment

PA

Scientists have examined a colossal squid that was caught in Antarctica’s remote Ross Sea.
Captain John Bennett and his crew hauled up the creature from a mile below the surface.
The squid weighed 770lb, is as long as a minibus and is one of the...

Alister Doyle, Reuters

Tiny marine algae can evolve fast enough to cope with climate change in a sign that some ocean life may be more resilient than thought to rising temperatures and acidification, a study showed.
Evolution is usually omitted in scientific projections...

Reported for the first time in Maltese waters at Ramla l-Ħamra last year, the compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella) has now been spotted at Żurrieq by Adrian Fabri. He submitted a report on the sighting to the Spot the Jellyfish database...

The International Ocean Institute-Malta Operational Centre (IOI-MOC) at the University of Malta held a free public screening of two underwater documentaries produced as part of the Panacea project that focused on the Mġarr ix-Xini and Rdum...

Anne Zammit

Just before the end-of-summer rains were due to fall and relieve the thirsty land, a water bowser carrying non-potable ground water came rumbling down the road.
The bowser made a stop to fill the empty wells of two houses in the street. A third...

Paul Portelli

The honey bee is a social insect which evolved in Africa from where it spread to all adjoining land masses. Wild honey bees build colonies in cavities in cliff faces, hollow tree trunks and other suitable places. Colonies often consist of tens of...

John von Rodowitz, PA

Bumblebees seem to prefer the buzz of the city to the countryside, a large-scale ‘citizen’s science’ study in the UK found.They also like to have a cool breeze on their backs when foraging, and choose English lavender over the more ‘flowery’French...

Emily Beament, PA

Surging carbon dioxide levels have pushed greenhouse gases to record highs in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said.
Concentrations of carbon dioxide, the major cause of global warming, increased at their fastest...

Alan Deidun

The promontory at Ta’ Ċenċ is truly an idyllic place… one of those rarified coastal locations on our islands where one ‘can get away from it all’, without the obtrusive sight of concrete. The unquantifiable value of the coastal asset at Ta’ Ċenċ...

The threat posed by microplastics to the health of the marine environment and to public health is still low on the radar, having so far failed to captivate the public’s attention. Marine scientists have long been talking about the sheer magnitude...

The owner of this plot of land in Gudja had a permit just to repair its rubble walls and install a pump room, but he then proceeded to deposit and spread large quantities of soil and place prefabricated stables on site too. Enforcement action by...

Bathers at St Paul’s Bay last Sunday found an oily residue slick floating on the water surface. A rigorous laboratory analysis should have been conducted on a sample of the slick to determine where it came from.

The most notable earthquake in August was the magnitude 5.8 event that occurred 145km south of Athens, Greece, on August 29 at 5.45am local time (green circle in map). The earthquake hypocentre was almost 100km below the earth’s surface, in the...

Paul Portelli

The Mediterranean shore crab is a very common, if not the most common crab in the Maltese islands. It is a native of the Mediterranean and Black seas and parts of the Atlantic. Since 1996, probably as a result of global warming, it has also been...

PA

Polar bear DNA has been isolated for the first time from footprints left in the snow on an Arctic island, a breakthrough that could help scientists better protect rare and endangered wild animals, experts said.
Scientists often spend days tracking...

John von Radowitz, PA

Cockatoos learning carpentry skills sounds like a parrot sketch worthy of Monty Python. Yet this is not an example of surreal humour.
Scientists have observed the brainy birds teaching each other how to make and use wooden tools to obtain food. It...

David Mercer, PA

Eating less meat is “essential” to ensure future demand for food can be met and “dangerous” climate change avoided, experts have warned.
A study by leading university researchers in Cambridge and Aberdeen found food production alone could exceed...

Anne Zammit

Saving several hundred euros a year on fuel for your car is an attractive proposal for anyone with added benefits of cleaner air. High fuel consumption is directly related to polluting emissions, and more fuel efficient cars mean lower bills for...

Late summer is a great time to see the Milky Way. The occasional spell of cooler weather creates better viewing conditions as it sweeps away the stagnant and moist air which characterises our Mediterranean summers. Look towards the south as from...

Paul Portelli

Leaf-cutter bees are solitary bees: they do not form colonies and do not produce honey. They are a large cosmopolitan group of insects which consists of about 1,500 species.
In Maltese the common leaf-cutting bee is known as imqass...